* “(Republicans have) no clue about the power of women … (but they’re) about to find out.” –President Joe Biden, after signing an executive order aimed at advancing the study of women’s health.
* “I’m not backing down.”–President Biden on his plans to forgive billions of dollars in student loans.
* A Biden fundraiser at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall raised more than $25 million. Yes, it helped that Barack Obama and Bill Clinton joined Biden.
* Harry Sloan: We’ll be seeing that name again. He’s the former chairman of MGM and a backer of Nikki Haley. He has now agreed to help raise money for Biden’s re-election campaign. Among his outreach plans: recruiting old-school “business Republicans” to support Biden and hosting a major Biden fundraiser later this year.
*”The Florida Supreme Court puts abortion on the ballot—and hands Trump a serious problem.”–USA Today: A reminder that abortion rights will be front and center in Florida.
* The Biden campaign, in an appeal to Nikki Haley voters, has released a 30-second “Save America, Join Us” ad that will run across a wide array of digital platforms.
* “Out for Biden-Harris”: A national program to mobilize LGBTQ+ voters, communities and leaders across the country.
* The U.S.-Israel relationship is looking increasingly fraught over the Hamas war and the tragic Gaza mess. That includes, according to the UN, the killing of at least 190 aid workers in Gaza through March. And it hardly helps that President Biden and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu don’t get along.
* History—and common-sense, political reality—has shown that a third party candidate is much more of a “spoiler” than a viable candidate. In 2024, a third party choice (say, “No Labels”) can become an ironic, de-facto stalking horse for Trump, and that, of course, includes Robert Kennedy Jr. Recall that Ross Perot hardly helped President George H.W. Bush in 1992, anymore than Ralph Nader helped Al Gore in 2000. Spoilers spoil. No alert needed.
* “A healthy relationship (with China) must provide a level playing field for firms and workers in both countries.” That was Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in her visit to China. You can bet that China joining the WTO in 2001 was brought up. That’s because Beijing had agreed to follow the same global rules governing imports, exports and foreign investments that most countries in the world were following. In short, China had agreed to make its own playing field as level as the rest of the world. In truth, it hasn’t.